Why Isn’t My Dough Rising Avoid These 12 Common Mistakes

The dough is a mixture of flour, water, and salt. It’s used to make bread, pizza, pasta, cookies, etc. The key ingredient in the recipe is yeast which causes the dough to rise when it comes into contact with air.

When you mix your ingredients together, they are mixed up so that all parts of the dough come into contact with each other. This allows for more surface area where the yeast can work its magic on the dough. If there isn’t enough time between mixing and baking, then the yeast will die off before the dough has risen sufficiently.

When you first start baking bread, it’s hard to get the dough to rise properly. It takes practice and a lot of patience. If you’ve been baking bread for a while, though, you might find that your dough doesn’t always rise as high as you’d like.

If you’re having trouble with your dough rising, there are a few common mistakes that you should avoid.

Here are 12 common mistakes that can cause your dough to fail to rise properly.

Why Isn’t My Dough Rising?

Have you ever tried making bread at home? It’s probably one of the easiest recipes to master, but there are a few things that you should know before you start baking.

Baking bread is an art form. The first thing you need to do is choose the right ingredients. If you’re using fresh yeast, then you’ll want to use warm water and wait until it foams before adding the other ingredients.

If you’re using dry yeast, then you’ll need to add the flour and yeast together and let them sit for 5 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients.

Once you’ve added all the ingredients, mix them together thoroughly. Then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it somewhere warm for around 30 minutes. After that, you’ll want to knead the dough for 10 minutes. Kneading helps develop gluten strands within the dough. Gluten is what gives bread structure and makes it chewy. You don’t have to be too gentle during this step; just keep pushing down on the dough and pulling it back out again.

After you’ve finished kneading, put the dough into a lightly oiled container or bowl and allow it to proof for about 1 hour. During this period, the dough will double in size. When it does, punch it down gently several times to release any trapped gas bubbles.

Cover the container tightly with plastic wrap and place it somewhere warm overnight. In the morning, remove the lid from the container and shape the dough into loaves. Place them onto greased cookie sheets and bake them according to the instructions provided by the manufacturer.

12 Common Mistakes That Can Cause Your Bread To Fail To rise Properly

Here are some of the most common mistakes that people tend to make.

Inactive Yeast

You may notice that your bread never rises very much after you’ve made it. There could be two reasons why: either your yeast was inactive or you forgot to rehydrate it.

To test whether your yeast is active, take a small amount of it and sprinkle it over a little bit of warm water. Wait for it to foam up and if it hasn’t done so within 15-20 seconds, then you’ll know that it wasn’t activated correctly.

The second reason why your bread won’t rise well is that you didn’t activate enough of the dried yeast. This happens when you forget to rehydrate the yeast. Simply pour boiling hot tap water over the packet of yeast and stir it vigorously. Let it cool completely before mixing it into the batter.

It’s Too Cold

If the dough is too cold, then it won’t expand as quickly as it would otherwise. Try placing the dough inside a microwave oven for 20 seconds to heat it up slightly. Alternatively, you can also try putting it in a preheated oven for five minutes.

Either it won’t rise at all or it will rise extremely slowly. It’s possible that you chilled your dough or used cold ingredients. In either case, the pace of increase will be slowed. Personally, I prefer a long, cold rise in the fridge for part of my dough, but if your dough is taking a long time to rise, it may get irritating. If you want to hasten the rise of your dough, place it in a warm area of your house. A warm oven, with the light, turned on, can keep your dough warm enough to rise correctly. Too Much Water

When making bread, there should always be an excess of flour mixed with the liquid. The more flour you add, the less likely it is that your loaf will collapse. However, adding too much water can cause problems. For example, if you use too much water, then the dough might not hold its shape properly.

The Liquid Is Too Hot

This mistake often occurs because people fail to wait until their dough has cooled sufficiently before they start working with it.

They simply throw everything into one large ball of dough without waiting for it to cool first. As soon as they do this, they end up having to work fast to prevent the dough from becoming sticky. But if you’re using too hot liquids, then you risk burning yourself while trying to handle the dough. You need to let the dough rest for 10 -15 minutes before handling it again.

If the yeast is combined with a very hot liquid then it will die off quicker than normal. So, don’t combine them together unless you have waited for the mixture to cool down.

You’re Not Using The Right Holding Vessel

Bread needs to be held somewhere between room temperature and body temperature. When holding the dough, make sure that it doesn’t touch any metal surfaces such as pans or bowls. Also, avoid touching the surface where the dough rests.

Using a bowl or square container can be useful for keeping the dough warm during proofing. Just remember to cover the top tightly with plastic wrap after removing it from the refrigerator.

You’re In A Dry Climate

In dry climates, like Australia, the rising process takes longer than usual. To speed things up, sprinkle some extra salt onto the dough. Salt helps draw moisture out of the air which speeds up the rate of fermentation.

Furthermore, you could consider sprinkling some sugar onto the dough. Sugar draws moisture out of the air and makes the dough easier to digest.

Using Too Much Salt Or Adding It Too Early

Salt slows down the growth of bacteria so it’s important to add it only when needed. Add about 1/4 teaspoon per cup of flour. This amount of salt isn’t going to affect how salty your finished product tastes.

However, if you’ve added too much salt, then the dough will taste overly salty. Instead of throwing away the whole batch, just reduce the quantity of salt by half. Alternatively, try mixing in some baking soda instead of salt. Baking soda also works well for slowing down bacterial activity.

You’re Not Giving It Enough Time

It’s easy to assume that once you put something in the oven, it’ll cook itself. Unfortunately, this isn’t true. Bread requires plenty of time to bake through completely. Don’t expect your loaves to look perfect straight away. They usually take around 30-45 minutes to finish cooking.

To ensure that your bread is cooked thoroughly, check them every 5 minutes. Once they appear golden brown, remove them from the oven. Then return them back inside for another 15 minutes.

Your Dough Contains Too Much Sugar

The best way to test whether your loaf contains enough sugar is to use an instant-read thermometer. Insert it deep into the center of the loaf and measure its internal temperature. If it reads above 190°F, then there should be more sugar present.

Alternatively, you could weigh your ingredients on a digital scale. Simply divide the weight of all the sugars by the total volume of water used.

You’re Using Flour With A Low Protein Content

The protein content of wheat determines how quickly the gluten develops. Gluten proteins are what give rise to elasticity in baked goods. Therefore, using low-quality flours means that the gluten won’t develop properly. As a result, the final products may not hold their shape.

You’re Not Covering Your Dough Properly

If you’re worried about covering the dough, simply place parchment paper over the top before placing it in the fridge. You don’t need to worry about dusting the sides either because these areas aren’t exposed to heat.

You’re Using Too Much Flour

When making any type of yeast bread, always start off with less flour than called for in the recipe. The reason behind this is simple: adding too many grains at one go causes the mixture to become heavy and difficult to handle.

Instead, slowly work in additional amounts until you reach the desired consistency. For example, if you want to make a sandwich loaf, begin by combining 2 cups of flour with 3 tablespoons of oil. Gradually increase the proportion of each ingredient as necessary.

You Didn’t Knead It Enough

Kneading helps strengthen the structure of the dough. To do this, fold the dough gently several times while rotating it clockwise. Repeat this process until the dough becomes smooth and supple.

Once kneaded, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap or cling film and leave it somewhere warm overnight. In the morning, transfer the dough onto a lightly greased surface and allow it to rest again for 20 minutes.

Conclusion

Bread can seem like a daunting task but following our guide will help you avoid common mistakes when creating delicious homemade loaves.

Remember to keep things cool during the rising stage so that the yeast doesn’t die out. Also, remember to add extra salt only after testing the dough. Finally, never forget to let your dough be proof for long periods of time. This ensures that the bread rises evenly throughout.